Microwave Meals For Birds

Debbie has been making tasty bird treats for the last couple of weeks and they've been going down a storm in the garden. Here's how it's done...

Put a third of a block of lard in a bowl.

Add any bird seed mix into a shallow bowl along with dried mealworms and raisins.

Microwave the lard for 2 minutes.

Pour the melted lard into the bowl of bird food and stir.

Leave to set in a cool place for about half an hour.

It's as simple as that and the birds love it!

RSPB Old Moor & Park Springs

Wanting to take advantage of the respite from the rain but not wanting to travel far, we popped over to RSPB Old Moor on Sunday to see what was about.

I must admit I was expecting the place to be full of waders by now but aside from the Lapwings, there wasn't much wading going on. The bird garden was as busy as ever but quite dark as usual. I had the Sigma 50-500mm with me for once and got nice shots of a Shoveler and almost managed my first decent shot of a Teal.

Bullfinch

Greenfinch

Chaffinch

Shoveler

Teal

Despite being frustrated by the distance between us and the birds, Debbie got some nice shots too with the 300mm lens which you can see here and includes a shot of a Robin that puts mine to shame!

We also called in at Park Springs but the light was fading, still managed a couple of shots while almost lying down on the feeding platform!

Mallard

Mute Swan Signet

Paul.

Portrait Of A Robin

Spent a couple of hours in the hide this morning having got the day off work. There wasn't much about, a few Goldfinch and a Robin, although I did notice a Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbirds, Collared Doves and Starlings, all at the wrong end of the garden!

The forecast awful weather hasn't arrived yet but it does look like we'll be battening down the hatches over the weekend!

Paul.

Rodley Nature Reserve

Visited another new site today, Rodley Nature Reserve, near Pudsey, West Yorkshire. It's a fabulous place and we were blessed with a Kingfisher appearance straight away, but sadly no sunshine.

Debbie got better shots of the Kingfisher today, getting to be a regular occurrence this, it's seems she can with a Canon and I can't with a Nikon ;-)

See more of Debbie's pictures here.


Paul.

I and The Bird

Many thanks to Thomas at Walk In The Wilderness for including me in the latest edition of I and The Bird.

It's cracking post showcasing 66 bird watchers from around the world, well worth checking out!

Sandsend

We had a ride to Sandsend near Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast yesterday, didn't go looking for wildlife, I was after beach landscapes but it was hard to resist!

Black Headed Gull

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

Oystercatchers

Black Headed Gull

Oystercatcher

Herring Gull

Even Debbie couldn't resist a spot of seabird stalking inbetween the black & white, beach and sky shots.

Thanks to Tony for the id - Great Black Backed Gull

Paul.

Mr Prickly

Had an hour or so in the hide both mornings over the weekend but didn't get anything worth posting, lack of light rather than a lack of birds.

While I wait for that moment when I'm in the hide at the same time as the birds are in the garden and sun is actually shining, I thought I'd post this shot of a Hedgehog I got a couple of weeks ago.

This morning as Debbie dropped me off for work, a Weasel shot across the road in front of us and then during a walk round the industrial estate I saw a Green Woodpecker fly over the Fire Station. I did have a look round to see where it went but couldn't see anything. I've not seen one that close before and was amazed at just how bright the green is or maybe it was a Jackdaw that had fallen in a pot of luminous paint.

Paul.